The Elizabet Ney Museum is a hidden gem tucked away in Austin’s Hyde Park neighborhood. Sculptor Elizabet Ney built this studio/residence in 1892 and lived there until her death in 1907. The museum reopened earlier this summer after being closed for remodeling. Improvements include a new roof and restoring the grounds to the original natural landscape.
In spite of this weekend’s cooler temperatures (yesterday’s high was only 96!), Saturday was a perfect day for the Austin Ice Cream Festival. Bill and I decided to offset those calories by walking the two miles from downtown to East Austin’s Fiesta Gardens. The northern path along the Hike-and-Bike Trail was mostly shaded, but we still arrived hot and sweaty, and were grateful to be greeted with our first ice cream sample right inside the festival entrance.
Yeah…it’s summer alright. Austin’s weather map shows triple-digit temperatures for the foreseeable future. But in spite of the sweltering heat, there are still plenty of free outdoor activities to keep us amused during the summer months…besides the bats under the Congress Avenue Bridge, of course.
Every other Wednesday evening from late May to early August, thousands of Austinites head over to Zilker Park for Blues on the Green. This free concert series is sponsored by local radio station KGSR 93.3. The bands start around 7:30 PM and play about two hours. Some people bring lawn chairs, but most just sit on blankets or on the grass.
It’s time for another construction update…and there’s lots of news to report!
All is ready for the big July 4th celebration at Auditorium Shores! Food vendors are in place, and a few early birds had already staked out their spots by 4 PM. The stage is set up for the Austin Symphony concert, with speakers appropriately aimed towards downtown. The highlight of the evening will be fireworks over Lady Bird Lake.
Let the festivities begin!
Pro-choice and pro-life protesters descended upon the state capitol today as the new special session of the Texas Legislature began. After State Senator Wendy Davis’ successful filibuster last week, Governor Rick Perry has called another session to again consider a bill to further restrict abortions.
Austin is one of four finalists—along with Detroit, Charlotte, and Chicago—competing to host the summer X Games starting in 2014. If selected, the Austin event would be held at the Circuit of the Americas race track, the new home of the Formula 1 US Grand Prix that’s east of downtown. In support of Austin’s bid, the organizers hosted an X Games rally in front of the Texas State Capitol when ESPN executives visited earlier this month.
Our Texas State Capitol was certainly an exciting place to be yesterday! I had watched the live stream of State Sentator Wendy Davis‘ filibuster of Senate Bill 5 off-and-on during the day. She was still going strong at 8 PM, so I decided to walk up to the capitol grounds to see what was happening…
The Austin Wall was unveiled last week in the lobby of the new U.S. Federal Courthouse next to Republic Square Park. This abstract stained glass wall is 28-foot square and weighs 3-1/2 tons. Two lower panels feature a black-and-white negative of a Texas Hill Country landscape.